Dictionary.com

assembly

[ uh-sem-blee ]
/ əˈsɛm bli /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for assembly on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural as·sem·blies.
an assembling or coming together of a number of persons, usually for a particular purpose: The principal will speak to all the students at Friday's assembly.
a group of persons gathered together, usually for a particular purpose, whether religious, political, educational, or social.
(often initial capital letter)Government. a legislative body, especially the lower house of the legislature in certain states of the U.S.: a bill before the assembly; the New York State Assembly.
Military.
  1. a signal, as by drum or bugle, for troops to fall into ranks or otherwise assemble.
  2. the movement of forces, tanks, soldiers, etc., scattered by battle or battle drill, toward and into a small area.
the putting together of complex machinery, as airplanes, from interchangeable parts of standard dimensions.
Machinery. a group of machine parts, especially one forming a self-contained, independently mounted unit.Compare subassembly.

OTHER WORDS FOR assembly

1, 2 assemblage, gathering, congress, meeting.
2 throng.
3 congress, representatives.
See synonyms for assembly on Thesaurus.com
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
who
whom
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of assembly

1275–1325; Middle English assemblee<Middle French, literally, (that which is) assembled, feminine past participle of assembler to assemble

synonym study for assembly

1, 2. See convention.

OTHER WORDS FROM assembly

pre·as·sem·bly, noun, plural pre·as·sem·blies.re·as·sem·bly, noun, plural re·as·sem·blies.self-as·sem·bly, noun, plural self·-as·sem·blies.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH assembly

assemblage, assembly

Words nearby assembly

assemblagist, assemble, assembled, assembler, Assemblies of God, assembly, assembly district, assembly language, assembly line, assemblyman, Assembly of First Nations
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

MORE ABOUT ASSEMBLY

What does assembly mean?

An assembly is a gathering of people, usually for some specific reason, as in The preacher gave a sermon before the assembly. 

Assembly is used to refer to a group of people who have gathered together. Usually, the people have a reason to come together such as for religious, political, or social purposes.

Assembly can also refer to the gathering or coming together of people, as in The principal organized an assembly of all of the parents. 

Assembly can also refer to a legislative body in which politicians gather to perform the political process. In this case, assembly is often capitalized when it’s a part of the name of the body, as in The bill was discussed by the California State Assembly. 

Lastly, assembly can refer to the act of putting something together or fitting parts together, as in Jorge helped his granddaughter with the assembly of the model airplane. 

Assembly comes from the verb assemble, which usually means to gather things or people together, as in The players assembled into a group huddle.

Example: The police chief spoke to an assembly of citizens concerned about theft in the neighborhood.

Where does assembly come from?

The first records of assembly come from around 1275. It ultimately comes from the Middle French verb assembler, meaning “to assemble.” Simply put, an assembly is a group of people who have assembled, or gathered.

Assembly is similar to words such as crowd, flock, and congregation. However, assembly and congregation are often used to mean that people have gathered in an organized manner for a specific reason or purpose, while crowd and flock might be used to describe a group of people who are disorganized or who aren’t all in a place for the same reason, as at a shopping center.

Assembly is also used to refer to putting parts together in order to build something. Many parents are often dismayed to discover that toys for their children are labeled as “some assembly required” because this usually means their child (or, more likely, themselves) will have to build the toy before anyone can play with it.

Did you know 
 ?

What are some other forms related to assembly?

  • preassembly (noun)
  • reassembly
  • self-assembly (noun)

What are some synonyms for assembly?

What are some words that share a root or word element with assembly? 

What are some words that often get used in discussing assembly?

How is assembly used in real life?

Assembly is a common word that often refers to legislative bodies.

Try using assembly!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of assembly?

A. crowd
B. individual
C. group
D. flock

Words related to assembly

accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, association, band, body, bunch, clambake, cluster, collection, company, conclave, confab, conference, convocation, council, crew, crowd, faction, flock

How to use assembly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for assembly (1 of 2)

assembly
/ (əˈsɛmblÉȘ) /
noun plural -blies
a number of people gathered together, esp for a formal meeting held at regular intervals
the act of assembling or the state of being assembled
the process of putting together a number of parts to make a machine or other product
machinery a group of mating components before or after fitting together
military
  1. a signal for personnel to assemble, as by drum, bugle, etc
  2. (as modifier)an assembly area

British Dictionary definitions for assembly (2 of 2)

Assembly
/ (əˈsɛmblÉȘ) /
noun plural -blies
the lower chamber in various American state legislaturesSee also House of Assembly, legislative assembly, National Assembly
NZ short for General Assembly
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK